Improved railway-signals



A. W. LIVINGSTON. 1

RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 51,952. v Patented Jan; 9, 1866.

invented a new and useful Improvement in Signals and I' do hereby declare that the folart to make and use the same, reference being part of this specification.

i'orm of' lights, lanterns, flags, or paintedsignals, &c., which signals, by means of a pecu- .system of signals,

tions of railroads where approaching trains UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT w. Livmes'ron; or SIDNEY, onto.

lMPROVED RAILWAY-SlGNALS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. l .952, dated J anua-ry 9,1866.

To all whom it may cmwe-rn: of the levers y y are connected together by Be it known that I, ALBERT W. LIVING rods W and W. Inserted in the posts S S, STON, of Sidney, Shelby county, Ohio, have in proper position to be readily discernible, are lanterns B B, having doors D D hiuged'on the fulcrums of said .lever-arnis L L.

Suitable hooks are atta'hed to top of loco- .niotive-cab, and on each side of the same, one

of which, as the locomotive moves in the dithe Arrangement and Operation of Railroad lowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the ages with the lever-arm on post 0, and turning the same, through its connecting-rod W, causes the otherlever, M, on the farther post, S, to be turned in proper direction to'throw open the door of lantern B. This door remains open had to the accompanying drawings, forming To prevent the occurrence of collisions of railroad-trains moving in opposite directions upon one and the same track is the principal object of the present invention, and which is accomplished by so arranging, at suitable and any desired points upon either or both sides or the track, one or more signals, either in the against that arm and turns it back, to its original position, closing the door, and, through its connectin g-rod W also the lever-arm M attached to post 0. The locomotive when moving in the opposite direction to that described then operates, by its other hook, upon the levers M M connected with the posts 0 and S, as has been described for the posts 0 and S, opening and closing the door of its signallantern B.

The cab-hooks of the locomotive are set in opposite directions, so that one hook only can engage at the same time with the projecting levers, according as the locomotive is moving in either the one or the other direction, the other hook passing freely under the other levers, said levers (see Fig; 3) i'or'this purpose being made in two parts, f and g, hinged atR, the outer one of which is swung up as the hook passes under the same, guided by a groove or slot, 0, in the other, but drops, by

liar arrangement of devices operated by the movement of the train over the rails, are caused to be displayed sntliciently in advance of the train to warn and thus step all ap proaching trains in an opposite direction. The advantages resulting from the use of such a self-operating, as it were, are many, and tlie'application ot' the same to curves, bridges, or tunnels, or any other porcan be seen for only a short distance, is 0t great importance.

in the accompanying drawings my improvements are represented, Figure 1 being a repspective view, showing a railroad-track, locomotive-engine, and my system of operating signals, 8rd; Figs. and 3, detail views ot'aportion of the mechanismemployed, which will be hereinafter particularly referred to.

a a a represent a railroad-track fastened to a series of sleepers, b b b, and having the direction of a curve. G and O and S and S, vertical posts placed on each side of the track, the two on the same side communicating with each other through devices to be presently described. v

Near the top of the posts G G S S are hung, to spring-fulcrunis m m m m, right-angular levers L L and L L, one arm, M or M, of each of which projects outward from said posts in a horizontal plane, or nearly so, and over the line of direction of the track. The outer ends the hook leaves it.

There may be any number of the posts C U S S stationed at any desired points along the line of the railroad, and at any distance apart, and on either one or both sides of the track, the mechanical devices herein described beiu g connected with each post.

In lieu of the lanterns B B, flags, painted signals,or any other suitable signaling devices maybe employed.

Thus it is evident that by the use of the above-described devices, operating as specitied, the approach of trains can be caused to be indicated at any desired point along the rection represented by the arrow in Fig. 1, en-

until the locomotive has reached the lever-armof its post S, when the same hook catches its own weight, to its original positionwhen jecting lever-arms of signal and thereby prevent a collision of the two.

My improvements are applicable to bridges, tunnels, curves, or any other part of a railroad where it may be desirable.

In Fig. 4 is represented a mode of attaching the hooks to the locomotive-cab, so that when not desired to be used they can be thrown back on the top of the cab, out of the Way, the same consisting in attaching to each end of hook short right-angular arms an, turning in bearings 0 o of cab (I, said book, when set to interlock with the proc0mmunicating posts, as herein described, being prevent ed from moving by bringing the swinging l'ever 1) of cab 61 under the handle g attached to one of the right-angular arms 12 01, before referred to. I

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The arrangement of devices herein described for signaling tl e approach of trains,

ALBERT W. LIVINGSTON.

Witnesses Rev. JOHN L. BATES, JAooB FRIOKER.

attached to com- 

